Wednesday, May 16, 2007

About this time last year I blogged about a survey being conducted by folks at Ohio State on behalf of GAMA and The Wargamer. Although I question both the general usefulness of GAMA and some of the wording of the initial round of survey, I thought you'd all like to know that they're starting a second round. Below the line is the notice I received.You helped us out a lot last year getting the word out about www.gamesurvey.org.We're open for round II now!

Ohio State University's School of Communication, in partnership with GAMA and The Wargamer, are undertaking a follwo-up to last year's large and comprehensive study of hobby game players. The researchers are investigating patterns of motivation and usage by tabletop (card, role-playing, minis, and board game players), digital (computer, console, MMORPG), and other gamers (such as LARP). The survey takes approximately 20-30 minutes to complete.

Building on lessons learned from last year, as well as some ongoing analyses of the existing data, the project is seeking continue expanding the knowledge of the games world.

• What do game players like in a game? What do they dislike? And why?• What motivates continued game play and preferences for types of games?• Where are games bought and what influences those purchase decisions in light of preferences and motivations?• What interactions do gamers have with others?• With whom (and where) do gamers play, and how frequently, and how do these decisions influence preferences and motivations?

"Man, is there anything Jeff CAN'T do when it comes to gaming? This guy is like a critical 20 every roll. Jeff can bite the heads offa five game geeks, including their sorry-ass DM, and spit 'em into a large duffel bag ONE AT A TIME!...that's just the kind of messed up bastard he is! You think yer a gamer, punk? Well..do ya? Jeff will depants your weasel-ass right in front of your grandma."